The ministry of culture has rejected a contest organizer’s proposal to revoke a beauty queen's title after their private dispute became public, Vnexpress reported Wednesday.

Existing laws make no mention of the revocation of a beauty queen's crown, according to the letter sent by Chief Inspector Vu Xuan Thanh of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the CIAT Company, which organized the 2011 Miss Ethnic Vietnam Competition.

Last month CIAT asked the ministry’s permission to take back a crown given to Trieu Thi Ha after their private disagreement became public.

The conflict surfaced after Ha told the press that she had asked to return her title in April of 2013, citing health problems.

Her request was ignored, she said.

In subsequent interviews with different papers, the 22-year-old member of a Nung community in Cao Bang Province revealed that she made the decision because the organizer pushed her into a corner.

Ha said her calendar grew packed in advance of last year's contest for which she was the incumbent queen. When she asked for several days off from promoting the event, she said, the organizers told her to follow through or step down.

She also claimed that she had to work from dawn to late at night to campaign for 2013 contestants and attract sponsorship, and had sometimes been called, at midnight, to greet potential sponsors.

Responding to Ha’s claims, Doan Thi Kim Hong, the chief contest organizer, said the girl was lying and accused her of libel.

Every beauty contest requires its finalists to agree to participate in social, charitable and cultural programs for two years after victory, Hong said.

According to VnExpress, in his letter to CIAT, Thanh also asked the company to file any and all libel complaints with the Ministry of Information and Communication.

The chief inspector also asked CIAT to notify the police regarding Hong’s claims that she had received threatening and offensive text messages.